"Who's up for chapter four?" Breezyfeather asks.
"Was it really necessary to get us up at 5 in the morning?" Ace grumbles.
"I was wondering the same thing," Ren said around a yawn. "Does she always do this?"
"No. just on days that she's feeling annoying," Fabia says with a grin.
"How do you know, Princess?" Mason asks in annoyance.
"How come you're not falling asleep?" Jesse asks accusingly.
"Because all of the girls had a sleepover at one of Breezy's friends' houses," Mira says, grinning. Alice, Julie, Runo, Mira, Zennet, Lena, and Fabia are all grinning. Dan stares at Runo.
"How come you didn't tell me?"
"Well, if I did, you'd come and spoil the whole meaning of "Girls Night Out"."
"And how come Breezy didn't go with you?" Keith asks."
"That's enough questions!" Breezyfeather calls. "On with the story! Well, chapter. But you get the point!"
"Ability, activate! Great axe!" Julie cried out, holding up the card.
"Ability activate! Shade cocoon!" Barron yelled. Spectra hissed.
"Gate card, open! Ring Zero!" Julie and Barron gasped, their abilities canceled out.
"Julie," Clayf said with a warning in his voice. Julie was staring at her Baku-pod, her lip curled nervously.
"Helios power level 700. Clayf 600. Nemus 500," it stated.
"Agh! It's not enough," Barron hissed.
"Ability activate! General Quasar!" Spectra shouted.
"No way! Ability activate! Spark Roa!" Nemus's power level increased by 200 and several rays of light grew from his staff. Helios's General Quasar slammed into the defensive barrier and Nemus had to fight to keep it up.
"Barron! Use Piercian!" Mira urged. Julie looked at her in confusion and Barron nodded.
"Bakugan trap! Haos Piercian!" Barron tossed the square Trap Bakugan into the air above him, making Julie and Runo gasp.
"Didn't you use one of those the other day?" Julie asked Mira. She nodded, but offered no other explanation.
"Ability activate! Shade cocoon!" Barron shouted out. The white Bakugan's blue wrist guards glowed, growing in size. He moved his arms in front of his chest and a large blue bar appeared between them, forming a giant shield in front of Nemus and Clayf.
"Thank you, Piercian," Nemus said to the trap Bakugan, who nodded in reply.
"I am in your debt, Piercian," Clayf announced.
"You may have saved them for now," Spectra said, clearly annoyed, "but your victory is short lived. Your Piercian can't attack while Shade Cocoon is activated. And after this ability, you won't be able to attack! Ability activate!"
The cards that Julie and Barron held in their hands glowed red and their eyes widened. "No way," Julie cried.
"He nullified our abilities," Barron yelled.
"Not only that, but this ability card sends all Bakugan traps back to their brawlers," Spectra smirked. "It's a card I've never played before, so you wouldn't recognize it, Barron." Piercian glowed, flying back to Barron and landing at his feet. Barron's life gauge dropped by ten points. "Now for the ku de gras! Ability activate! General Quasar!" Spectra shouted.
"Smile, kiddies," Helios growled, shooting a fire ball toward Clayf and Nemus.
"Clayf!"
"Nemus!" The fireball engulfed the two Bakugan, the heat of the flames reaching as far back as the brawlers that had tossed the Bakugan onto the field. Mira and Runo grimaced, shielding their faces from the scorching heat. Spectra was laughing maniacally as Clayf and Nemus returned to their brawlers, landing at their feet. Julie and Barron knelt down, lifting the two Bakugan off the ground worriedly.
"How about we switch our strategies a little bit?" Mira said softly so that the two Vexos wouldn't overhear. Runo, Julie, and Barron turned to her, eyes determined and attentive.
"What do you have in mind?" Runo asked.
"Well, you and Julie are used to battling together," Mira started. "I recall something saying that you two fought against two of the Bakugan on Naga's side to ensure that Dan made it to the center of Vestroia, right?"
"That is correct," Clayf said.
"They did fight together in the world where Haos and Sub-Terra were combined," Lars Lion agreed.
"You two are used to each others battling tactics. Barron and I are used to our battle tactics. If we fight together like that, anticipating each others moves, then we might gain the upper hand," Mira explained.
"Oh, I get it!" Barron exclaimed.
"You're a good strategist, Mira," Julie praised her.
"Lets try it!" Runo said enthusiastically. The group turned toward Spectra and Gus with a renowned vigor. Nemus and Wilda exchanged glances and then retreated into the balls. Clayf and Lars Lion did the same. Runo and Barron each whipped out a card.
"Gate card, set!" they cried out. The two cards grew side by side, a thin line of golden light showing the gap.
"A double battle this time?" Gus said doubtfully.
"Lets go," Spectra cried.
"Your move," Runo called. Gus and Spectra exchanged glances and nodded.
"Bakugan, brawl!"
"Bakugan, brawl!"
"Helios, stand!"
"Vulcan, stand!"
Spectra and Gus had each tossed their Bakugan onto separate gate cards and both eagerly anticipated the battle to come. Spectra was on Runo's gate and Vulcan on
"We'll take Spectra," Mira started, but Runo cut her off.
"No. I want to battle him. I still have a score to settle with that feathered freak," she growled. "And anyway, he's on my gate card. Julie, you up for it?"
"You bet! He's gonna pay," she smirked.
"Bakugan brawl!" the two girls cried, Clayf shooting from Julie's shooter and Lars Lion from Runo's Gauntlet. "Bakugan stand!"
"Haos Lars Lion!"
"Sub-Terra Clayf!"
"Our turn, Nemus!" Barron cried.
"Let's go, Wilda," Mira yelled.
"Bakugan brawl! Bakugan stand!"
"Sub-Terra Wilda!"
"Haos Nemus!"
"Let's do this, Nemus," Wilda called to Nemus.
"I hear you, Wilda," Nemus replied.
"You're move, Spectra," Runo called to the Pyrus Vexos.
"Ha. Ability activate! General Quasar!" Spectra cried out.
"Ability activate! Valkyrie Barrier!" Runo yelled. Lars Lion lifted up her arms, a golden dome appearing above them, surrounding both her and Clayf. Helios's power level dropped down to 400 while Lars Lion's remained the same.
"Ability Activate! Great axe!" Julie yelled. Clayf didn't waste any time in flinging his giant axe at Helios. Spectra gasped and quickly loaded a card into his Gauntlet.
"Ability activate! Nova Spiral," Spectra shouted. Julie and Runo hissed as Lars Lion's and Clayf's power levels dropped back to their base levels.
"We're down but not out," Runo cried. "Gate card open! Silent Land! And, ability activate! Hyper arrow!" Helios was arched over as the Gate card took effect.
"You're going down, Helios," Lars Lion said, drawing back her bow.
"Helios!" Spectra cried. Helios growled in response, struggling against the effect of the Gate card. Lars Lion released the arrow with ease, allowing it to shoot forward as if propelled by a cannon. It sliced through the air silently and deadly, cutting a straight path to Helios. It collided with Helios's chest and the Pyrus dragon like Bakugan swirled back to Spectra, who seemed unable to believe he had lost.
Mira, Barron, and Gus all gaped at Runo and Julie's victory. How had they beaten the seemingly undefeated Pyrus Vexos? It didn't make any sense. But Mira and Barron were jolted from their shocked state when Gus called out that it was his move.
Spectra recovered from his surprise and knelt down to pick up his Bakugan. He narrowed his eyes at Helios and wondered what his allies were up to. He stood up and glanced at his life meter, unfazed that it had dropped by half. "Well, Dan, I certainly hope you're cooperating," he murmured. "Otherwise, things won't exactly be a walk in the park."
"Things never were a walk in the park with you around, Spectra," Dan retaliated. Spectra smirked, knowing that he had contacted Dan telepathically.
"Well then, Dan, how are you enjoying your stay with my allies, the Gundalians?" Spectra asked. He spoke loudly, but not so loud that the others could hear him.
"Ability activate! Clay wall!" Mira cried, making Spectra smirk. He knew that ability would slow Vulcan's attack, but wouldn't stop it.
"You're repeating abilities, Mira," Gus retaliated. "Ability, activate!"
"Oh, that's what they're called? I had just started to call them Spectra's babysitters. Now I understand why you're such an evil jerk," Dan snapped.
"Well that certainly wasn't very polite," Spectra muttered, annoyed. Dan continued, knowing that he had hit a nerve.
"Well, maybe if you hung out with a few Vestals you might learn something about teamwork and friendship! And maybe, oh, I don't know, how to be a guy that people look up to?"
"Dan, you're beginning to test my patience," Spectra said calmly.
"Sorry, but I don't really care," Dan said smugly. "When I get Drago to fight again, you are so going down."
"Good luck with that," Spectra muttered, closing off the connection.
Dan groaned, banging his head against the cold metal wall of his cell. Of course Spectra had betrayed him. Why was he surprised by that? He was the leader of the Vexos. The leader of "Club Evil". The man behind the mask. Okay that was literal. Dang it! Being locked up and having a head injury does not help with coming up with angry insults! Dan growled then finally stood up and yelled in frustration.
"Hey! Someone let me outta here!"
No one answered and that somehow made Dan even angrier. "AGH!" He arched his back and let out that wild yell. "I hate this! Let me out of here!"
"That is an interesting request," someone said, amusement in their voice. Dan narrowed his eyes, quickly getting control over himself.
"I see that you've recovered, have you?" A girl asked. The two turned the corner, then stood in front of Dan's cell, smirking. Dan took in their appearances in confusion. What are these guys?
They both had gray skin with these gold crown-like things that reminded Dan of bamboo running alone the top of their heads, and then elsewhere over their bodies. The boy had white hair that stood up tall on his head. His eyes were slits but a golden color. He wore a strange outfit: a black shirt with the crown like thing running over his shoulder, except that it was white and had what looked like golden fur sticking out of it. Dan blinked at him, then turned his attention to the girl.
The first thing that he noticed was her green hair. He blinked in surprise, remembering Runo's blue hair. This girl had a white hat made of the same material that the boy wore over his shoulder. She had blue leggins and a blue shirt, covered by a over shirt that had short sleeves and jutted above her shoulders like armor. She wore a white skirt and long sleeves. Her hat covered her left eye with a red jewel. Dan stared at the duo, wondering what the deal was.
"Okay, just people I wanted to see," Dan growled. "Let me out of here. Now. My Bakugan partner is in trouble if my friends loose to Spectra!"
"That's not our problem, buddy!" the girl announced, still smirking. "We're just here because we heard you yelling."
"We can't let you out," the boy said coolly. Dan glared at him, then pressed a finger to the spider web like door that barred him from leaving. He yanked his finger back quickly with a grimace.
"It's infused with electricity," the girl stated, rolling her eyes as if it were obvious.
"Whatever. I don't care. I just need to get my partner back," Dan said, feeling desperation begin to overwhelm him. He forced himself to calm down, but it wasn't as easy as he thought. "He said he didn't wanna battle anymore, and so I went to Spectra to see if he'd work with me to motivate Drago again. But he crossed me and now if my friends loose he'll take Drago, I know it. Even if Drago isn't battling, he'll trick them into letting me go and giving him Drago in payment." The boy and girl were silent, staring at him.
"If he's your enemy, then why did you go to him in the first place?" the girl asked.
"Because if I didn't go to him, who else would I have gone to?" Dan snapped.
"Your Bakugan partner?" the girl said as if it were obvious.
"I did, but he didn't want to battle anymore!"
"Will you two stop it?" the boy shouted. Dan glared at him while the girl shut up. The boy took a deep breath and tried again. "My name is Ren. This is Zenet."
"Hi." Zenet said, sticking out her tongue at Dan.
"I'm Dan, but you already knew that, I bet," Dan said, walking into the cell again and leaning on the wall closest to the door. He was still in view of his guests. "But if you're not gonna let me out, why did you come in here anyway?"
"I told you: we heard you yelling," Zenet told him.
"Kazarina would have been a little annoyed if you were yelling. She might have hypnotized you to get you to shut up," Ren explained.
"Hypnotized me?" Dan repeated, confused.
"Yeah, hypnotized. Its an ability that some Gundalians have," a Darkus Bakugan explained, popping out on Ren's shoulder.
"Gundalians?" Dan asked. Ren and Zenet sighed.
"Yeah. We're Gundalians, invading Neathia," Zenet tried to get him to understand. Dan looked between the two helplessly.
"Never mind. Bottom line, we're not humans. We're only allied with the Vestals-"
"Vexos," Dan interrupted Ren.
"He said he was a Vestal," Ren growled.
"He's part of the bad guys. He's the leader of the Vexos, the people invading New Vestroia—where the Bakugan come from," Dan explained. "That is, if you're talking about Spectra. The guy with the mask."
"Yeah. Him. Whatever, anyway, we're only allied with him because he said he'd help us against the Neathians," Ren snapped.
"You said you're invading them," Dan said slowly. Ren and Zenet exchanged glances and nodded. Dan's face was shadowed in the darkness of the cell, but they could see his mouth, which was turned downward in a frown. "I never really liked invaders. In my experience, the invaders are the bad guys. Naga invaded Earth in search of Wavyrn and the Vestals invaded New Vestroia. All of them have caused destruction and bad fortune. So why," he asked, lifted up his head, which revealed an angry face, "why are you invading Neathia?"
"That's-" Ren and Zenet started, but were cut off abruptly by their own inability to answer. Zenet looked and the floor, clearly pondering the reason, but Ren seemed caught up in his own internal conflict. Finally, Ren spoke.
"That's the emperor's decision," he said carefully. "I only go along with it because I had been banished to live in an underworld on Gundalia. I'd never seen the sunlight. I'm a Dark Protector – a guardian of a Dark Bakugan. I'm the last of them, and Linehalt here is the last of the Dark Bakugan," Ren said slowly, glancing nervously at Zenet, who seemed enthralled in his story. "He's supposed to exhibit some sort of Hidden Power, but we've never seen even a hint of it," he muttered, looking at Linehalt's ball in his hand.
"Really, Ren?" Zenet asked, staring at him.
"Well, yeah. That's why you never saw me when we were growing up. We were imprisoned below the surface," Ren said to her. "He gave me this opportunity to leave if I helped him win the war, so that's why I have to remain loyal. He promised me answers, too, and he'll only give them to me if we win."
"That's why we fight for Gundalia. We know that what they're doing is wrong, but we have no other choice," Linehalt said, popping out of his ball.
"Well, we fight because we have to. We're the Minor Twelve Orders," Zenet said, averting her eyes. "But, Ren, I think you're right."
"We're gonna be taking the Sacred Orb from the Neathians," Ren told Dan. "Barrodius wants it to become the most powerful. He wants to rule the universe."
"Seriously, what is with all of these crazy dictators?" Dan muttered. "Naga, Spectra, Hydron, Emperor hard-name-to-pronounce... geez. But I can't let him just take over everything. You have to let me go!"
"I'm sorry," Ren muttered, turning away... and running straight into a large wall like figure. Dan and Zenet stared at the man, who was obviously Gundalian. He was clad in brown and what looked like armor over his shoulders with green jewels set in it. A brown cape descended over his shoulders. And a Sub-Terra Bakugan floated over his shoulder.
"Master Nurzak," Ren gasped. Dan looked at him, stepping away from the wall to get a better look. He had gray skin and slitted eyes, like Ren and Zenet. It was clear that this man was older than both Zenet and Ren.
"Hello, Ren, Zenet," the older Gundalian said in a heavy accent. His eyes traveled over to Dan and rested there. "Hello."
"What do you want?" Dan asked with a glare. Nurzak wasn't fazed.
"I understand that all of you have mixed feelings about Emperor Barrodius, correct?" he said, cutting straight to the point.
"I suppose," Ren murmured, looking down at his feet. Dan noticed that he wore strange shoes, as did all of them, but shook off the thought and turned his attention back to Nurzak, who was once again focusing his gaze on Dan.
"Listen to me. If you can go the Mason, Sid, Lena, and Jesse and convince them of your argument, Ren, Zenet, maybe I'll help you get the answers you need, Ren, and we'll take down Emperor Barrodius," he proposed. Ren and Zenet were frozen in shock, staring at the older Gundalian in surprise. Then, the two exchanged glances and nodded. Nurzak nodded at them in response and walked out of the prison. The two teens followed him wordlessly, leaving Dan alone with his restless musings. Dan sat down on the floor silently, resting his head in his hands.
How am I supposed to get out of here? he wondered. None of these guys are gonna help me... maybe I can contact Mira with my Gauntlet – wait I left that at the house... dang it! And besides, who knows how far I am from them? Maybe Apollonir will help me? No... he's on Earth with Drago... Dan sighed, pulling his legs up to his chest and resting his forehead on his forearms. This is hopeless. I'm in some other universe for all I know. How am I supposed to get back to them unless they release me?
Suddenly, he heard a lot of loud yelling. He blinked, standing up and moving to the edge of his cell, peering through the web of metal that made up the door. "Come back here!" he heard someone shout. Dan stiffened, grabbing the interlaced webbing. He heard footsteps. But not just regular footsteps: someone was running. Then an exposion shook the place and he heard a chorus of cries of pain and shock. Then, he caught movement to his right.
"Hey! Slow down for a sec!" he shouted and the person running slowed slightly at the different voice. The person slowed just in front of his cell, catching sight of his face. Dan gasped, taking in her bluish skin tone—no it was lavender. She had green eyes – just green. No iris, no pupil, no nothing. It was completely green. She was wearing a white dress that looked out of place here. She had dark blue hair, too, falling over he left shoulder. She skidded to a halt, realizing that this person was not a Gundalian, but probably trying to escape like she was.
"Who are you?" she asked, looking him up and down. Dan hurried to explain.
"I'm Dan Kuso, leader of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers! They kidnapped me and I have to get my Bakugan partner safe before...never mind. Can you get me out? I'll help you with whatever you have to do. Or at least, I'll try to."
"Dan Kuso... that's a weird name. You're not a Gundalian, but your not a Neathian, either..."
"I'm a human."
"Oh!"
"Can you get me out?" She looked around, catching sight of a keypad to the right of his cell. She hurried over and tapped a few keys, then the web baring the door melted away. He jumped out and grinned at her. "Thanks! Come on, I don't think they're gonna stay back there for long!"
"Right," she nodded. The two took off in the direction opposite the one the girl had been going before. Dan easily took the lead, skidding around a corner. All of the other cells were unoccupied, thankfully, for they wouldn't be able to spare any time releasing more prisoners. The sound of pursuit came quickly and a quick glance behind them revealed the party of soldiers on their heels.
"Hey! Slow down!" the raspy shout of a Gundalian guard ordered.
"Step on it!" Dan yelled to the girl.
"Easy for you to say," she called back, but sped up to the point that she was running at the same pace as he was. They rounded corner after corner, then finally arrived at a dead end. Dan skidded to a halt and the girl, who had lagged behind slightly, crashed into him. The two stumbled, but didn't fall. Dan and the girl whirled around to come face to face with a sharp looking staff – pointed right at them.
"Come along peacefully and you won't get hurt," the guard growled.
"Dan," the girl muttered. Dan glanced at her and she was glaring at the soldiers. Then, she dove forward, knocking one of the soldiers back and stealing his staff. Dan ducked when the one closest to him took a swipe at him, then sprang up at his chest, knocking him back. Dan reached behind him, his fingers closing around the rod of the staff. He twirled it in his fingers, bringing it around to his front. He grabbed the rod tightly and swung the pointed end toward the guard, making sure that he used the flat part of it to hit him, not the sharp sides of the blades. The electric shock jolted through him sharply, and the guard cried out in pain. Then, he fell to the ground, his uniform steaming.
Dan and the girl stared at him, then both were forced to duck when other guards swung at them. Dan twirled the staff over so that the rod part was out and Dan had to be careful not to shock himself. He jabbed the guard in a gap in his armor, causing him to double over in pain. Dan flipped the staff again and hit him on the head with it lightly, sending a fierce electrical current into him. He fell over, his helmet smoking.
Dan turned at the sound of another yell to see the girl ducking between two guards, who's staffs hat touched and shocked both of them. They both fell over, their uniforms smoking. A quick glance around revealed that there were no more guards standing; all of them were unconscious on the ground.
"Nice job," Dan grinned.
"You too," she responded, not smiling.
"Hey, what's your name anyway?" Dan asked. She was silent for a moment and turned to a hidden door, jabbing the staff into the lock. It opened and she jumped through, Dan following. Then, she looked back at him.
"Fabia Sheen."
"I think that's a good spot to end it for now," Breezy says with a grin. Then, her grin vanishes. "Who else has seen the latest Gundalian Invaders episode?"
"Well, we were in it," Zenet mutters.
**********SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILTER ALERT**********
"AGH! KAZARINA YOU WITCH," Breezyfeather screams. "DON'T YOU DARE HURT DAN!" Dan stares at her, then ducks behind Jake.
"I think she's finally lost it," he whispers.
"No. In the episode you're chained to a table and Kazarina want's to kill you," Jake explains. "I was there. Standing next to you."
"Why didn't you do anything?"
"Because that's where the episode ended." Dan looked at him and groaned. "Oh yeah, and Nurzak's dead."
"WHAT?"
